Mired in a six-game losing streak in the beginning of the season hasn’t been helping the Montreal Canadiens’ confidence, or that of their fans. Currently sitting 28th in the NHL, and last in the Eastern Conference is something very new to the Montreal faithful in recent years.
Last year, they began their campaign taking home the first nine of 10 games, and the year before that winning their first nine in a row.
This evening, Carey Price, Jonathan Drouin and the Habs are traveling over to the Honda Center for a tilt against the Anaheim Ducks, who are in a mini slump of their own, dropping their last two. Montreal’s California trip has seen them have trouble finding the back of the net, being outscored 10-3 against the Sharks and Kings this past week.
How to watch
Puck drop: 10:00 PM EDT / 7:00 PM PDT
In Canada: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the United States: PRIME
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL Game Centre Live, NHL Center Ice
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistic | Ducks |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5-1 | Record | 2-3-1 |
| 1-1-0* | H2H record | 1-1-0* |
| 54.1% | Corsi-for pct. | 45.9% |
| 11 | Goals for | 12 |
| 27 | Goals against | 17 |
| 0.32 | 5v5 goal ratio | 0.89 |
| 7.7% | PP% | 0.0% |
| 76.9% | PK% | 82.8% |
Anaheim has had also been bitten by scoring woes, though ironman Andrew Cogliano leads the team with six points in as many games. Cogliano will suit up for his 787th consecutive game; a feat that ranks him currently fourth all-time in NHL history.
One major issue for the Ducks this season is their injuries that keep piling up. Off-season acquisition Ryan Miller has been injured since pre-season, leaving 24-year-old John Gibson starting every game this season so far. They also are without the services of Ryan Kesler until the new year, while team captain Ryan Getzlaf sat out his second straight game in their last contest. That is just the beginning of their players on the shelf.
Montreal remains a rather healthy squad with only David Schlemko, acquired in the summer, out for three to four weeks with an injured hand.
The Habs are playing their third game in four nights, whereas the home Ducks are well-rested, having not played since last Sunday.
One thing is for sure: this should be a very interesting contest where both teams are playing desperate hockey, and are both wanting to get back into the win column as soon as possible. Both teams need to score more, and win more – you can expect a very spirited affair.
It hasn’t been that long since Montreal won in Anaheim, 4-3 in the sixth round of the shootouts and Andrei Markov got the eventual game-winner on March 5, 2014.
Following the trip, the Canadiens will finally get to go home for the next three games starting with a game Tuesday evening against the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre.
